Fair Market Rent Lookup
Look up HUD's official Fair Market Rent for any county in the US - the federal benchmark used for Section 8 vouchers and rental market analysis.
What Does Fair Market Rent Mean for Landlords?
HUD sets Fair Market Rent at the 40th percentile of local rents - a useful floor for landlord pricing strategy and Section 8 participation.
Is Your Rent Section 8-Ready?
If you want to accept Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8), your rent must be at or near the local payment standard - typically 90% - 110% of FMR. Knowing the FMR tells you whether your unit qualifies without a price cut.
Is Your Rent Competitive?
If your rent is well above FMR, you may be pricing out a large segment of renters. If it is at or below FMR, you may be undercharging for the market. FMR is a useful anchor - not a ceiling.
How FMR is Calculated
HUD uses American Community Survey data to measure what recent movers - households that moved in the past 24 months - are paying for standard-quality units. It is then updated with CPI rent inflation to the current year.
FMR vs. Actual Market Rent
In high-cost metros, actual median rents often far exceed FMR. In rural areas, FMR may be above typical rents. Think of FMR as the federally-defined "affordable" baseline - not the going rate on Zillow.
Need Zipcode-Level or City Rent Comps?
HUD Fair Market Rents are county-wide averages. For neighborhood-level accuracy, actual asking rents, and rental trend data, check out RentDataNow.com - built for landlords who want real market intelligence.
Visit RentDataNow.com →Ready to Make It Official?
Knowing your area's Fair Market Rent is a great first step. The next step is a solid, state-specific lease agreement - one that covers rent amount, due dates, late fees, and all the state-required disclosures.
Create Your Lease Agreement - $7.99 →Frequently Asked Questions
Fair Market Rent is a dollar amount set each year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It represents the 40th percentile of gross rent - meaning 40% of rental units in the area rent for at or below this amount. FMR is used to determine payment standards for the Housing Choice Voucher program (commonly called Section 8) and other federal housing assistance programs.
HUD calculates FMRs using data from the American Community Survey (ACS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, supplemented by local survey data in some areas. The ACS data is updated to current rent levels using Consumer Price Index (CPI) rent inflation factors. FMRs are set at the 40th percentile of the rent distribution for standard quality units occupied by recent movers - households that moved in the past 24 months.
FMR is the basis for Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher) payment standards, but they are not exactly the same. Local housing authorities set their own payment standards at 90% - 110% of the published FMR. A voucher holder pays the difference between the actual rent and what the housing authority pays. If a landlord charges above the payment standard, the tenant must cover the gap - which is why many landlords set rents near or below the FMR to attract voucher holders.
Yes - FMR is not a rent cap. Landlords can charge any rent the market supports. For Section 8 tenants specifically, a landlord can charge above the local payment standard, but the tenant must pay the difference. For market-rate tenants, FMR is simply a useful benchmark - if your rent is well above the local FMR, you may have room to negotiate, or the unit may offer premium features that justify the premium.
HUD publishes new Fair Market Rents each fiscal year, typically effective October 1. The data shown here is FY2026 (effective October 1, 2025, with some areas updated January 2026 following reevaluation). HUD may also issue revised FMRs mid-year for specific areas. Always check the HUD website for the most current figures if you need them for an official housing program.
FMR reflects rents at the 40th percentile - a below-average benchmark by design, intended to ensure voucher holders can access decent housing. Actual median market rents in many areas - especially in high-cost metros - are significantly higher than the FMR. In hot rental markets, a unit priced at FMR may be at the lower end of what is available. In rural areas, FMR may be closer to or even above typical rents. Use FMR as a floor or reference point, not as a complete picture of local rents.
For standard FMRs, most counties within a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) share the same FMR. This can make the FMR feel overly broad in large metros where neighborhoods vary widely. HUD's Small Area FMRs (SAFMRs), which are set at the ZIP code level, address this in designated high-opportunity areas. The county-level data shown here is the standard FMR used for most programs.